Coach is taking its pre-fall show on the road — all the way to China for the first time.
The brand today will reveal that it will hold a runway show — titled “Coach Lights Up Shanghai” — and after party on The Bund, the city’s popular waterfront.
The event will be held on Dec. 8 and is intended to commemorate the brand’s 15th anniversary in China.
The collection will feature specially designed accessories, ready-to-wear and sneakers created by Coach creative director Stuart Vevers in collaboration with important Chinese cultural figures.
“We selected Shanghai as the venue for our first dual-gender runway show outside of New York City in recognition of the important relationship with have with Chinese consumers,” said Joshua Schulman, chief executive officer and president of Coach. “As we celebrate 15 years in the market, we look forward to building an even closer connection between Coach and our fans in China.”
Vevers said staging the pre-fall show in Shanghai “is a big moment for Coach and for me personally. Shanghai is one of the most vibrant, youthful and contemporary cities I have ever visited. It has a distinct energy that is inspiring and exciting — just like New York. I’m most looking forward to taking the spirit of the new Coach and the attitude and energy of New York to

PARIS — In the latest sign that Dior is beefing up its men’s business, the French fashion house plans to stage its first men’s pre-fall runway show with a collection designed by Kim Jones scheduled to bow in Tokyo on Nov. 30, WWD has learned exclusively.
The choice of location reflects not just the brand’s long-term relationship with the country, but also the British designer’s fondness for Japan and the strategic importance of the Asian market.
The show will coincide with a Dior men’s pop-up at department store Isetan in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district, set to open on Nov. 28 for two weeks, that will carry the first collection designed by Jones. The capsule line for summer 2019 will simultaneously go on sale at the Dior flagship in Ginza ahead of its global launch on Dec. 1.
Jones told WWD in July the capsule would include denim pieces embroidered with Dior’s signature bee, as reimagined by U.S. artist Kaws, whose real name is Brian Donnelly, who also designed a monumental floral sculpture for the designer’s debut Dior show in Paris in July.
The spring collection featured new accessories, including a men’s version of the Saddle bag; belts with a stylized CD buckle created by Matthew

WE JUST MET: Chanel, the subject of a major exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2005, is returning to the landmark New York museum in December to parade its next Métiers d’Art collection. The show will be held Dec. 4.
Chanel has a long association with New York, a city that Coco Chanel first visited in 1931, according to the fashion house. U.S. department stores were among her strongest early supporters, having carried her first hat collections from 1912. “Karl Lagerfeld is also very attached to the American mega-city whose energy and light he has always loved to capture,” Chanel said.
The December show, further details of which have yet to be revealed, will mark the third time Chanel has shown in Manhattan after the presentation at the brand’s boutique on 57th Street in 2005 for the Métiers d’Art collection and its 2006 cruise show in Grand Central Terminal.
The luxurious Métiers d’Art collection, conceived by Lagerfeld as a way to exalt the specialty couture ateliers Chanel owns, typically travels to a destination — Edinburgh, Salzburg, Dallas, Rome — and recounts a chapter of the house lore, real or imagined.
In 2017, Lagerfeld took the itinerant pre-fall show to his hometown of Hamburg in

Roland Mouret said he wanted a collection that was all about movement, lightness and freedom and, to wit, played with volume, draping and longer lengths. A long and loose cotton shirtdress had string ties at the wrists and could be worn open or closed at the back. Languid, unlined trenches had epaulet details that melted into the shoulder or came with geometric patterns and fringed edges. Dresses were lightweight and airy, as in a long powder pink one in a textured organza with Mouret’s signature folds around the neck. A featherweight, off-the shoulder gown in Lurex brocade was versatile enough to wear with sneakers or stilettos.

“I’ve been dreaming about going on a trip so this collection is all about my fantasy of going to North Africa. I was inspired by the idea of their beautiful bazaars and being in that eclectic atmosphere.” — Maria Cornejo

Sarah Burton played with contrasts for pre-fall, creating fragile, romantic looks and ones with a more tailored, urban edge. She juxtaposed androgynous tailoring with more decadent lace, knit and embroidered pieces, in a bid to create a “darkly romantic” mood. Long lace tiered tops were layered over tailored pants, while romantic printed dresses were paired with edgier leather harnesses. Blazers featured cutouts and lace appliqués. The collection also had touches of British art nouveau and with the patterns on a pleated silk dress recalling the inky lines of Aubrey Beardsley. The collection was filled with gossamer knit skirts and dresses, some with ruffles, and others with transparent panels that gave the garments a otherworldly look. The collection’s evening offer featured a series of high-shine sequined looks, including a floor-length chiffon gown delicately embroidered to create floral patterns.

“I liked the dichotomy this season of romantic and charming elements mixed with sleek tailoring,” says Michael Kors. “It’s a mix of femininity, polish and athleticism. To me it is the perfect storm for how women want to dress today. The collection is inherently about modern eclecticism.”

The look of gypsy women served as the starting point for Diego Marquez and Mirko Fontana’s pre-fall collection for Au Jour Le Jour. Instead of taking the inspiration too literally, the duo managed to rework it and nicely incorporate it into an urban wardrobe for hip, young women.
Layering, a key element of the gypsy look, influenced the charming outerwear, which included a style featuring a checkered coat combined with a faux shearling jacket. Aprons were worn over striped Bermuda pants and the inside-out denim skinny trousers. The signature braids of gypsy women echoed in the long embroidered details applied on the backs of cocktail dresses.
The collection also included a range of playful eco-fur chubby coats, patchwork jeans and several pieces, including a plissé midi skirt and a more casual sweatshirt, printed with images of Caravaggio’s still lives with fruits.

Martin Grant just launched a capsule collection for men, so it was hardly surprising that his women’s pre-fall designs had an androgynous slant.
In fact, the designer only slightly tweaked some of his men’s styles — including a trouser suit and an oversize navy coat — to adapt them to the female form. Call it a 180-degree switch: It was his tuxedo design for French director Nicole Garcia that originally led to him creating a similar style for men.
Not that it really matters: Grant’s daywear has always been grounded in luxurious staples, such as this season’s check coat with a removable shearling collar, or a jumbo cord trench. “Quiet luxury — I mean, it’s very much about the fabrics, the textures, a very, very soft fabric feel,” he said of the collection.
A case in point was a fuzzy gray alpaca sweater that read like a very upscale spin on a sweatshirt. It came in a women’s size, but Grant suggested borrowing the men’s version for an even roomier fit. The more overtly feminine options were easy yet chic: lightweight denim pieces with topstitched details, a black jersey turtleneck dress and a cocoon-like camel cape coat.
Grant left the eveningwear for later: As

The rise of ath-leisure has many luxury brands scrambling to produce a version of the ubiquitous sneaker. Fortunately for Louis Vuitton, that wasn’t much of a stretch for its women’s wear designer Nicolas Ghesquière, whose aesthetic has always flirted with sportswear.
His spring collection featured 18th-century-style brocade frock coats paired with chunky trainers, in what many observers saw as the tipping point of the “ugly sneaker” trend. His pre-fall collection cemented the evolution, with not only a new sock sneaker style, but a wardrobe that matched it for ease of wear.
Cinched jackets and neat leather coats provided the working wardrobe options — a kind of loosened-up version of the Sixties-inspired, futuristic tailoring that has French First Lady Brigitte Macron hooked on Vuitton. A gray wool belted jacket, for instance, was paired with black chenille wool track pants and lace-up heels.
By contrast, floor-length skirts were dressed down with casual tops and chunky outerwear. These included a white, side-split skirt that was layered under a gray hoodie embroidered with letters spelling out “Louis Vuitton” — an upscale twist on the logo sweatshirt — and an azure blue fake fur coat.
“We are constantly in movement and on a journey, be it a physical or

Reflecting the company’s strategy, aimed at repositioning the Trussardi label in the advanced contemporary segment, creative director Gaia Trussardi delivered a dynamic, urban pre-fall collection.
Athletic references were introduced in a lineup of woman’s staples, including a jersey fitted dress that was updated with a chevron, color-blocked motif and a zipper, as well as a turtleneck sweater featuring a contrasting band on the front and snap fasteners running down the sleeves.
The mannish silhouette of a relaxed suit was balanced by its bubblegum pink color while utilitarian details, such as applied pockets and zips, peppered the range of dark indigo denim pants and skirts.
Trussardi’s leather-crafting skills took center stage in a series of high-end outerwear styles, including a patchwork shearling jacket and a trenchcoat worked in a chic brandy brown tone.

Seventies influences injected a charming twist into Luisa Beccaria pre-fall collection.
While the label is mainly known for its romantic, feminine wedding dresses and evening gowns, the company is expanding its offering to meet the everyday needs of its international customers.
Flannel shirtdresses with exquisite floral embroideries and skirt suits punctuated by butterflies were juxtaposed with more mannish vests paired with culottes for a chic tomboy look.
A range of see-through fabrics were crafted for delicate blouses, while the brand’s signature frocks with tiny front buttons were rendered in wool. Velvet was hand-painted to obtain beautiful color effects on the ruffle dresses and the evening styles displayed the label’s craftsmanship with precious embroideries and applications.

“I call this collection ‘Jackie O going to Kyoto to meet the royal family of Japan,’” declared Andrew Gn, with his trademark mix of erudition and tongue-in-cheek humor.
In practice, his pre-fall lineup centered on casual chic day options — think oversize coats, ample culottes and ruffled blouses — done in a zingy palette of acid-bright colors.
Key to the look was a woven motif, inspired by a kimono fabric from the Edo period, that blended floral designs with bright dégradé effects, in a nod to his Japanese grandmother and his own penchant for collecting antiques.
The custom-made fabric came in a sky blue-to-lemon yellow variant on a bell-shaped skirt, which was paired with a pale pink blouse in a colorful floral pattern inspired by a Minton porcelain motif. Gn threw in chunky pearls, a sequined handbag and blood-red suede boots for good measure.
“My goal is to do something that cannot be copied within 48 hours,” he said of his soigné aesthetic, with its abundance of handcrafted details. “We’re living in this high-tech world and everything moves so fast. The most luxurious thing now, and also in the future, will be things made by human hands.”
Nonetheless, the designer believes in making life easy

The French classic film “The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie” served as the starting point for Erika Cavallini’s pre-fall collection.
According to the designer, the effortless elegance of Seventies bourgeois families inspired the collection, which was focused on balancing uncomplicated silhouettes, vibrant tones and rich fabrics.
A fluid tunic dress was worked in a bright hot pink, while a macro houndstooth set, featuring a knitted cardigan matched with a coordinated pencil skirt, was rendered in yellow and beige.
Velvet coats and pants were paired with tonal blouses while a tunic, worn with matching cropped pants, showed an eccentric sculpted collar.
Mannish references echoed in the suits, including a style showing wide-leg pants and a kimono-inspired jacket, while a shirt dress combined a rigorous silhouette with an eye-catching multicolor striped pattern.

Daniella Helayel took a deep-sea dive with a collection full of prints inspired by bubbles and underwater creatures, and by the floral designs of Gustav Klimt. The designer called her pre-fall collection a “controlled explosion, a riot of color and print.”
She also stuck to her signature, floaty silhouettes, whipping up peignoirs, caftans and floor sweeping dresses that were done in a palette of bright sea blues, tropical greens and watermelon pink and silver. They hung loosely or were cinched with long, flowing belts.
Her strongest silhouettes included a long sheer chiffon dress with a high waist and a bubble print, and a navy midi dress with a circular ripple pattern done in white and blue. An ankle-grazing white dress with long and tiered cutout sleeves and tiny, multicolored embroidered stars was also a winner.
Helayel also put a renewed focus on knitwear, in the form of a rainbow striped midi dress with a high waist, and a similar skirt and twin-set combination.

Female adventurers like Gertrude Bell helped inspire Belgian designer Christian Wijnants, who continued being influenced by a notion of Persia, as well, while conceiving his pre-fall line.
“This woman was actually here in the summer collection — there were a lot of prints, a lot of scarves,” he said, adding this season the links to Persia are less distinct and more what sparked the notion of how women traveling want clothes that can easily — and comfortably — be worn.
This collection does successfully offer that, with its wide array of wide silhouettes, including broad sleeves and trouser pants, and soft fabrics like silks, cottons and knits — not to mention ample draping.
“I really like it when dresses have movement,” the designer said.
The line also has eye-catching prints, including ethnic floral motifs, in light colors that were developed in-house.
Christian Wijnants the brand celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, and that gave its designer pause. He reviewed the last decade of collections and identified “what I like most to do — the soft dresses, drape-y pieces, knitwear combined with prints,” Wijnants said.

For his first collection since announcing the launch of an activewear capsule line, Giambattista Valli sketched out his vision of how casual staples like track pants and down jackets might fit into his ultra-feminine universe, beloved of “It” Girls like Lauren Santo Domingo and Bianca Brandolini.
The good news is that his faithful customers won’t have to sacrifice an ounce of chic. In Valli World, puffer jacket rhymes with pink duchesse, and jogging suits feature strips of macramé lace instead of racing stripes.
That’s not to suggest he isn’t proficient in technical matters: as creative director for the last decade of Moncler’s recently discontinued Gamme Rouge line, Valli probably knows better than most designers just how far you can push techno-couture. He just doesn’t want it to look like hard work.
“It’s modern elegance. I wanted to challenge the notion that you have extreme elegance on the one hand and hoodies on the other, because I love finding common ground between the two,” he explained.
Hence, his signature chiffon day dresses could be dressed up with slouchy silver-studded black boots, or down with chubby fur loafers. The outerwear, lightweight and richly embellished, might pass for an evening jacket – just the ticket to carry

Gender differences are so last century.
Maria Grazia Chiuri, who keeps close tabs on Millennial attitudes through her daughter and muse Rachele Regini, has been touting a feminist agenda since taking over design duties at Dior in 2016 — all the while, paying homage to highly specific facets of the French fashion house’s 70-year heritage.
In her pre-fall collection, she found a point of convergence between the two. The lineup, which mixed graphic men’s tailoring with her signature diaphanous evening gowns, was inspired by Surrealist artist Claude Cahun, best known for her photographic self-portraits in which she adopted a variety of guises.
Chiuri decided to explore this period after seeing the Dior retrospective at Les Arts Décoratifs, which wrapped last week after a record-breaking run. It included a room devoted to the couturier’s early career as a gallerist, and his friendships with Surrealists including Jean Cocteau and André Breton.
With her gender-ambiguous pseudonym and fondness for role-playing, Cahun makes an ideal muse for a generation craving new ways of defining themselves.
“At that time, in Paris, the modern woman was born,” said Chiuri, pointing at a mood board filled with images of the shaven-headed artist. “In a way, it’s very close to the idea that

Julien Dossena stuck to his pre-season tradition of taking the label’s spirit into easier territory for a broader audience, building a lightweight, stretchable and stylish collection.
He toned down the disco vibe of recent collections a notch, but, ever-imaginative, brought in new sources of shine. Set at an angle, vertical stripes added a layer of sophistication to a body-hugging Ziggy Stardust-inspired Lurex pantsuit. A long, navy-blue knit dress projected a different kind of metallic stripe, paint roller-style this time, with a grunge effect.
And a flowing, black crepe de chine skirt with matching top was laden with a thick layer of shimmery gray fabric paint with a rubbery feel, as if the pieces had been dipped into a pot of gooey, plastic silver.
The French designer embellished a series of fitted, see-through dresses, skirts and trousers in solid black or light peach, with small metal studs, intended for layering. Using fabrics like jersey in his quest to create a bridge between dressing for evenings and daytime all at once, he also employed silver mesh, a mainstay of the label, to fashion one of the more elegant pieces: a spiraled skirt with a slit and no lining.
“I hate lining because it adds weight, it’s

Moved by the strong and beautiful women speaking out against men who have abused them, Michelle Smith designed her latest Milly collection to empower and embody them. “It has been consuming my mind, these beautiful and strong women….I see them in my mind as bullfighters. I perceive their fear of coming out and speaking out…” Smith said. She drew a visual comparison between these women and actual bullfighters, with all the fear and violence, and created a collection to honor them.
The allegory was instantly evident through the strictly white, black and red color palette. Smith focused on super high-waisted pants, skirt and shorts silhouettes, inspired by the matador’s pant, and paired them with hand-embroidered poplin blouses, polka-dot off the shoulder tops and cropped taffeta tops that tied around the neck. A leather bra and shrug, along with super fun sequin dresses, added a great dramatic flare to the collection. Smith described each piece as emotional; overall, these were fun clothes with the power.

Trina Turk is fully embracing a seasonless, buy-now-wear-now approach to design. She lives in Los Angeles, where it’ll be hot when pre-fall delivers in July, and her customers expect travel escapist fashion that’s lively and lightweight.
The theme for her latest collection was “Found in Translation,” culled from “Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA” exhibitions around Southern California celebrating the cross-pollination of Los Angeles and Latin American fashion. Vibrant splashes of red, pink and blue derived from architecture by Luis Barragán were found on graphic Azulejo Especial (special tile) and Flor de Jalisco floral prints cut into breezy georgette tops, cloth pants and faille dresses. The tile print was cut comfortably into a chic matching tunic and pant set easily imagined on a woman lounging poolside or exploring a bustling city. A punchy floral wrap dress could also transition day-to-night. Most playful were chenille-embroidered sweatshirts and tees that read “Hola LA.” A similar spirit of ease was seen in men’s tunics, two-tone shirting, printed pants and popular jumpsuits, cut this season with a bomber jacket collar. There was plenty of festive flair through textural play and embroidery while maintaining a signature element of lighthearted fun.

Three days into 2018, Amy Smilovic declared Tibi’s yearlong focus: “This is going to be the year of shoes, bags and China,” she said during a walk-through of the pre-fall collection. The lineup made clear her commitment to her first point with a tight but vibrant assortment of shoes in vivid colors and novelty styles including knee-high burgundy boots with Western details, purple pumps and strappy pink sandals all done in heel heights that were manageable without being mumsy. Smilovic reported exceptional growth in Tibi’s shoe business, crediting a tight offer true to her vision. “We did the same number of stockkeeping units. We don’t have to have a heel height for everyone under the sun,” she said.
As for the clothes, she mostly dashed up the label’s best-selling silhouettes — wide-leg suits; high-waisted pants; modest, midlength dresses with novel back details — with subtle Western references. An ivory dress with an open back tied with a fringed scarf was embroidered with colorful paisley patches. A chicly roomy suit came in mismatched tartan with a quirky Western belt. And if you thought the sweatshirt had reached peak ubiquity, Smilovic managed to make it look new as sophisticated, nylon blend dresses, cardigans

Fabrics were the starting point for Laura Vassar and Kris Brock’s pre-fall collection. The couple has a taste for the traditional, some might say old-fashioned even, tending toward taffeta, lace and an intense jacquard based on an old wallpaper dug up in the fabric library of one of their mills. Yet they balance their old-world romance with an eye for the now. Their signature corsetry was done with raw edges and undone cuts, cut in separates that could be worn with a skirt or layered over one of their fine knit ruffled dresses, or jeans. Working in ultralight cotton voile took the preciousness out of corseted gowns, giving them a sense of comfort and ease that one doesn’t typically associate with corsetry. They also upped their evening offering in silhouettes that felt more edgy and sophisticated compared to some of their flirtier work — a black long-sleeved embroidered slim tulle gown with an elaborate peplum and a similar silhouette in white lace that could easily wonder into bridal territory, a category that’s on the designers’ minds but not in their business plan yet.

A cooler, younger vibe permeated Reem Acra’s mind for pre-fall. Her social media followers are mostly young women, and lately the strategy has been speaking to both them and loyal, more mature, consumers without alienating either. The answer here was injecting evening attire with both attitude and a laid-back sensibility.
She proposed unconventional elements for dressing up, paving the way for comfort and lightness to enter her library. The best examples came in the form of sheer dresses, like a great airy blush number with ribbon straps and a sheer overlay gown connected to a cropped red top. They were edgy, more casual takes on evening, and maintained intricate embroidery for which Acra is known. A striking strapless gown balanced Art Deco with modernity. And embroidered or not, gowns were cut with featherweight fabrics, shorter hemlines, and fell away from body. “This is the trend, lightness,” Acra said at a preview. “They don’t want to be bothered with heaviness. They want to be able to walk and feel cool.” She ensured a thread of youth with offbeat color combinations, separates that transition day-to-evening, and tasteful sheer moments that can resonate with women of any age looking for elegance with whimsy.

Founded in 2000, Italy’s Golden Goose Deluxe Brand has more recently been growing within the U.S. For pre-fall 2018, the brand designed a ready-to-wear and shoe collection around a fictitious woman who fantasized about stories of her grandfather, should she have ever met him. Notes from the designers claimed the collection, “is an ode to real imagination and imagined realities.” Vintage references ran throughout; there was Forties-inspired suiting, like a lilac set or striped trouser, along with multiple trenchcoats with full gun flap and box pleats. Men’s wear references and the reemergence of the brand’s original cowboy boots were also strong throughout. A mismatch of graphics — celestial, collegiate, tropical scenes, logos and floral prints — could have been pared down to make the whole idea more concise.

Pre-fall delivers in the summer when Naeem Khan’s customers are looking for pieces to wear to a wedding in the Hamptons, a trip to the South of France, or simply something new to carry into fall. Given his evening propensity, there was a lot of glitz, but there was an equal focus on youthful cuts and a sense of lightness as well.
For anyone looking for traditional cocktail glamour, Khan showed an array of silhouettes ranging from a floor-length navy gown with hologram sequins he punched out himself, to gowns with raffia embroidery and flattering cinched waists. Flirty dresses with explosions of firework beading and swishy fringe mixed with lace exuded personality. There was an ease with the embellishments to wit; even though dresses were heavy on beading, they weren’t weighted down. A similar weightlessness was seen in an unlined coat and sweater with hand-sewn chenille; Khan’s older clientele will appreciate the coverup over dresses while younger girls will dress them down with separates. In fact, a focus on more youthful silhouettes resulted in a range of fluid evening pants, jumpsuits embellished with organic materials, and little black dresses mixed with subdued gold. “The young girl, she wants to combine,” Khan

Emilio Pucci is definitely associated with glamorous cocktail parties, luxury escapes to posh winter resorts and chic vacations on the Mediterranean islands.
This idea of jet-set lifestyle continues to play a relevant role in the development of the label, but a new sense of urban reality is actually what the Emilio Pucci creative team targeted for pre-fall.
The colorful and chic collection was strong on versatile pieces, still injected with high-end sophistication yet infused with metropolitan dynamism.
Printed leggings, which are iconic staples of the brand’s heritage, were matched with color-blocked sweaters, and a pair of satin five-pocket pants was worn with a diagonally striped tweed peacoat trimmed with fringes.
An impeccable sartorial Prince of Wales suit was showed in a charming pink tone and a pajama set was crafted from plush velvet.
New patterns were introduced, including a bold floral motif, as well as a Pop print, which paid a tribute to Andy Warhol’s muse Edie Sedgwick. This was splashed on a jersey column dress and was re-created with sequins on a covetable short tunic frock.
From a chubby marabou coat with a contrasting wool collar to a printed satin denim-inspired truck jacket and a maxi black dress embellished on the back with a printed maxi

Sporty accents injected a dynamic vibe into the Emporio Armani pre-fall collection.
The brand developed a versatile city wardrobe featuring the label’s signature combination of masculine and feminine details.
Effortless chic suits, including one in a wool fabric with a denim-like appearance, were cut with elongated blazers and generous pleated pants. More fitted and cropped jackets were worked in multicolor jacquards inspired by digital graphic art, while the Emporio Armani eagle logo was splashed on a casual quilted bomber matched with dark indigo boyfriend jeans.
An athletic feel was injected in a pair of boxing-inspired shorts worn with a jersey parka. A casual padded hooded jacket paired with matching wide-leg pants was crafted from a printed shiny fabric with a vinyl effect.
Quintessential feminine looks included a sequined mini frock with a polka dot tulle insert and a silk dress with an inlaid belt exuding Eighties’ sensuality.

“Seductive sobriety” was the expression which Giorgio Armani used to describe his pre-fall collection.
In a way, this season, Armani, who was born outside Milan in Piacenza, went back to his roots and he recalled that thick fog which used to surround the city during the long winters of his youth.
The designer translated his memories into the collection through the use of soft tones and plush fabrics wrapping the body with warm coziness.
Different tones of gray defined a range of pieces, including a little jacket worked in an Art Deco-inspired chevron motif and embellished with printed leather lapels punctuated by hand-painted maxi buttons. A lighter gray hue gave a chic attitude to a collarless coat worn over silk Bermuda pants and a chevron top, while gray was combined with pink, white and black on a leather blazer splashed with an abstract interpretation of a floral pattern.
Flowers, recalling Henri Matisse’s paintings, also peppered a silk romper trimmed with Kidassia fur, which was layered under a maxi Mongolian fur coat.
A more sporty and casual attitude informed another group of pieces, such as a graphic chevron bomber showing an asymmetric zipper, a jersey sweatshirt embroidered with the Giorgio Armani logo, as well as an oversize

“Happy clothes for happy times.” That’s how Peter Dundas described his “Dundas 2” collection, the second effort under his new namesake label, developed in partnership with his boyfriend Evangelo Bousis.
Unveiled during the pre-fall season, the collection is actually a seasonless wardrobe specifically designed to meet the glamorous and nomadic lifestyle of the crew of beautiful and fun “Peter’s Girls,” including Bianca Brandolini, Georgia May Jagger, Giovanna Battaglia and Poppy Delevingne. “They actually tried some of the clothes while they were still being made and they gave me smart suggestions,” said the designer, who highlighted that most of the pieces are easy to pack and they can be worn for a wide range of occasions.
The lineup, which Dundas developed to be more affordable than the Dundas 1 collection presented during the latest Paris Haute Couture fashion week, was a celebration of the designer’s signature aesthetic.
There were impeccably tailored suits, shown in embroidered velvet, sequined zebra patterns but also in off-white, and his iconic sensual dresses, such as the languid gowns featuring seductive Ziggy Stardust-inspired lighting bolts details running down the side.
Cherries were printed on silk fil coupé fluid frocks, and flowers blossomed on a cotton sun dress. Dundas’ beloved Bohemian feel ran

Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi are taking it easy for fall, with a lineup of loose, draped, smocked and off-the-shoulder dresses that were all about comfort — and grace. “She’s grown up, and she loves luxury — but she probably still dances to The Jesus and Mary Chain,” said the designers.
This feminine collection had a deliciously dark edge to it, too. Flowing, silk dresses came with pussy bows, single ruffles and uneven hemlines, although prints tended toward the sinister — snakeskin and flowers, or olive and black camou. Other dresses had black lace insets or bits of devoré velvet.
For evening, there were sequins galore, as in one slinky red dress or a sparkling camou one, or a silver off-the-shoulder number. For more subtle types there were ribbed knit dresses with working buttons running down the arms, while other dresses were done in crinkly sweeps of silk that had a sleeve flopping seductively off one shoulder.
The designers added a punk edge in the form of long plaid skirts with uneven hems, roughly patchworked knits in argyle and tartan and a fun, fat lumberjack check for a sweeping silk dress.

Natasha Zinko has brought back the high-shine, high-energy mood of the Eighties with her latest outing — a dynamic, upbeat lineup filled with bright colors, textures and plenty of attitude.
Inspired by Ali MacGraw in “Love Story,” and by the glamour and freedom that followed in the next decade, Zinko’s muse of the season was a woman in love, strong and confident.
She wore loosely tailored suits that came in lavender or camel, shiny nylon tracksuits or bright printed dresses that recalled “Dynasty,” Joan Collins and “The Yuppie Handbook.”
Zinko maintained a sense of romance and nostalgia throughout the collection with feminine floral midi dresses and the words “fallen in love” printed all over denim, blouses and dresses in Russian script.
At the same time, the androgyny that the designer has come to be known for was also prevalent, as in paillette dresses layered under boyish oversized parkas, delicately ruffled leather corsets paired with wide-leg cargo pants and large pockets on cool, low-rise denim.
Outerwear played a key role too, with a lamé check bomber and a layered shearling and denim jacket among the standouts.

Emilia Wickstead immersed herself into the world of Edith Bouvier Beale, known as Little Edie, producing a collection that was as elegant, vibrant and multifaceted as the American socialite and model herself.
Wickstead drew inspiration from every facet of Edie’s life, from the playful outfits of her aristocratic youth and the bright colors and patterns of her house to the more somber choices of her later years when she lost much of her wealth and was unsuccessful in her dream of becoming an actress.
There were bright floral minidresses and splashes of snake print reminiscent of the model’s high times, as well as more grown-up cotton shirts, check twinsets and embellished midi dresses as the designer aimed at bringing together “the old and the new, the decrepit and the fresh.”
Dresses continue to be the strongest components of Wickstead’s collection, and this season she updated her best-selling midi styles in bold reds or elegant jade greens inspired by imagery of Little Edie’s house.
As she establishes her signatures, Wickstead has also been looking to develop the line’s separates and to offer her customer a full wardrobe.
In line with the label’s romantic, feminine aesthetic, separates took the form of elegant printed blouses, midi skirts and

Fran Stringer is sharpening her focus at Pringle of Scotland, staying true to the label’s heritage and to what it does best: knitwear. Stringer said she wanted to offer a modern take on the idea of colorful winter dressing and her bright, upbeat lineup was filled with loose, chunky knits in a palette of sorbet shades such as lavender, turquoise and heather.
Stringer said she was inspired by the richness of the pastel colors found in French Cubist artist Francois Villon’s work and by archival brand imagery from the Seventies and Eighties, which led to an array of cool, chunky-knit dresses, loose ponchos and cardigans layered over each other. A charming lilac twinset — a standout in the collection — featured a knitted A–line skirt and cardigan in the same shade. “It’s our interpretation of the modern twinset,” said the designer.
Outerwear played a key role with plenty of loosely tailored wrap coats and ponchos done in wool or seam-sealed cotton gabardine.
As she continues to develop her handwriting, Stringer also felt more confident to revisit the brand’s signature argyle pattern, which she previously treated with caution in order to avoid associations with golfing. Argyle patterns were patched onto cardigans, dialed up and hand-knitted

“This time it was more about conveying an attitude rather than focusing on the single pieces,” said Alessandro Dell’Acqua, revealing the process behind the creation of his No. 21 pre-fall collection.
The designer this season delivered looks with an intense, empowered femininity, always sensual yet dynamic.
Dell’Acqua mixed and matched his signature codes — including the charming balance between masculine and feminine elements, as well as the sense of lightness injected in his pieces and the innocent seduction always defining his lineups — in a beautiful, appealing collection.
There was something of the Fifties and Sixties in the body-conscious dresses unconventionally crafted from outerwear nylon and the high-waisted pencil skirts matched with boxy bowling shirts, including one completely covered with sparkling sequins.
The retro feel was enhanced by the images of Californian diners and motels printed on skirts, re-created on jacquard knitted pieces and popping up on the labels of dark indigo denim pants.
In a contrast between different forces, masculine utility zippered shirts were trimmed with micro crystals and sweatshirts were elevated with fringes.
With its street-ready appeal, this collection perfectly reflected Dell’Acqua’s signature approach to fashion, definitely creative and personal yet smart and commercially savvy.

Roksanda Ilincic said she wanted her woman to feel sheltered, protected and confident, which is why there was a softness — and strength — to this charming collection.
“We are all living in an uncertain times, when things we thought wouldn’t happen are happening,” Ilincic said. “It is really important to give my woman that extra confidence. She is strong and dressing for herself. She is interested in many different aspects of culture, and I think that curiosity is very important.”
She injected abstract embellishments here and there, including swirls of embroidered arty scribbles for a tea-length dress or raw threads and knots on shirts to symbolize craftsmanship.
Cocooning coats came in navy, green or khaki, with some featuring a sporty ribbed jersey back panel or a ruffle trim.
In a nod to classic men’s wear, there was a pinstripe pattern on soft, silky blouses and on long dresses with the designer’s signature bell sleeve.
Her more embellished pieces included long organza dresses with hand-cut and hand-sewn three-dimensional flowers, which added texture and movement.
Separates included voluminous trousers, and short, billowy blouses.
Colors were meant to transmit a sense of calm and happiness and included nougat, porcelain, bordeaux, acid green, lavender, sapphire and scarlet.

“No one is allowed to say “summer, pre-fall or fall,” exclaimed Normal Kamali of her brand philosophy during her latest collection walk-through. “It’s month to month…if you go out on the street and ask people what’s April/May they’ll say it’s spring; they’re right, we have to stop doing this crazy talk.” For her latest offerings, which will drop during traditional pre-fall drops, Kamali designed a variety of versatile and lively clothes meant to be worn anywhere and everywhere.
The all machine-washable collection was shot, for a third season, on Kamali’s iPhone. This time around, the designer also shot a mix of look book and interview videos between Kamali and three models — Alewya Demmisse of Women, Frances Coombe of Muse and Tian Yi of Fusion — which was inspired by Kamali’s involvement with Stop Objectification. Whether having a conversation about Citi Bike while wearing tiered, gauze ruffle pants and dresses or talking in-depth about the definition of love while moving around in a great silver lamé long coat and sheer top, the girls brought strong personality and a new light to the clothes. From striped or polka-dotted bright green and black suit sets and fringe dresses to vintage inspired swim and

While thinking about Warm’s pre-fall collection, Winnie Beattie realized that, at that time of year — summer — thinking about what to wear is the last thing she wants to do. Therein was the thesis of the collection. “There’s no big inspiration,” Beattie said. “In June, July and August, I’m chilling out, relaxing, trying to find things I can wear then and carry into fall.” That meant lots of printed dresses in relaxed, comfortable proportions that are easily filed under the “bohemian” catchall, though Beattie and her partner Tracy Feith continue to elevate their fabrics, silhouettes and finishings above the average beach dress. For example, long silk jacquard dresses with kimono sleeves and fringed belts had the attitude and luxurious hand of a vintage Asian silk robe. “You can toss it on and your only decision is your accessories,” Beattie said. There were printed cotton voile dresses and tops cropped perfectly to pair with high-waisted pants. Within that silhouette was something that felt quite new and fresh for Warm: a button-down cotton shirt, cropped and tied for you, in a black and gold floral print that, when worn with high-waisted white pants, took on a summery vintage Versace flair.

With new merchandise across categories dropping every month, designer Marcus Wainwright is focusing on perfecting the Rag & Bone icons. For pre-fall in women’s, “men’s wear for women” was key, like an Army green skirt with a zipper down the front or military-inspired jacket. Easygoing dresses with buttons running down the sides — offered in light purple or black-and-white houndstooth — added a more feminine touch to the looks. Denim was also strong in the collection, a standout being a long workwear robe.
The men’s wear was also a compilation of the brand’s greatest hits. T-shirts, chinos, tracksuits, jeans and outerwear with military and workwear influences were all tweaked for the season. Among the highlights was a waxed cotton field jacket, a coach’s jacket in a black-and-white gingham pattern, a color-blocked hoodie, and a patchwork oxford shirt that Wainwright said was a personal favorite. “I had one when I was 15 so I had to do it,” he said.
He said the brand’s mission is to “double down” on what it believes to be the “perfect” chinos, jeans, shirts, etc. “That’s at the core of what we do,” Wainwright said. For pre-fall, a new twill chino has entered the mix, and features a

Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi are taking it easy for fall, with a lineup of loose, draped, smocked and off-the-shoulder dresses that were all about comfort — and grace. “She’s grown up, and she loves luxury — but she probably still dances to The Jesus and Mary Chain,” said the designers.
This feminine collection had a deliciously dark edge to it, too. Flowing, silk dresses came with pussy bows, single ruffles and uneven hemlines, although prints tended toward the sinister — snakeskin and flowers, or olive and black camou. Other dresses had black lace insets or bits of devoré velvet.
For evening, there were sequins galore, as in one slinky red dress or a sparkling camou one, or a silver off-the-shoulder number. For more subtle types there were ribbed knit dresses with working buttons running down the arms, while other dresses were done in crinkly sweeps of silk that had a sleeve flopping seductively off one shoulder.
The designers added a punk edge in the form of long plaid skirts with uneven hems, roughly patchworked knits in argyle and tartan and a fun, fat lumberjack check for a sweeping silk dress.

During a preview of the Grey Jason Wu pre-fall collection, Wu made clear the difference between his two lines: “Grey is the casual, off-duty weekend version of Jason Wu, which is always much dressier.” Grey’s prices are lower and there’s a more relaxed ease than the main line, but inter-brand synergy is clear and Grey packs a lot of look for the contemporary positioning. Wu let a mannish, Hepburn attitude influence wide-leg trousers, striped shirting in a nice dense yet soft twill and tailored blazers and a great convertible trench that could be zipped off into a cropped jacket. Slipdresses — a main line staple — came in plain but chic silhouettes in wrinkle-free jersey, and more elaborately cut dresses were done in printed dévoré. There were plenty of knits, T-shirts and stylish sweats to keep essential wardrobe components covered.

Abundance seems to be a key word to describe Alessandro Michele’s era at Gucci.
Incredible sales, outstanding brand popularity, extensive collections and hyper-decorativism are definitely some of the elements that are marking the rebirth of the label.
Once again, Michele approached the pre-fall season — which is usually dedicated to safer, more commercial collections — with the same flamboyant, opulent, quite extreme attitude that defines his runway shows.
The brand presented a big lineup of 82 looks, which were shot by photographer Peter Schlesinger in different Roman locations, including the aula magna of the Dental Hospital George Eastman and the Hotel Mediterraneo, all previously used by Dario Argento for his horror movies.
Michele’s signature cinematic approach highlighted the quintessential eclecticism of the collection, which, while touching many different notes, was still so coherent and cohesive.
The Roman designer easily shifted from bourgeois bon ton to hip street glam. His nonsense grammar rules actually enabled him to build his own language, which is not only spoken within his reign but is actually becoming an international fashion idiom.
Clothes-wise, the lineup was extremely inclusive. Windbreakers, separates splashed with the Flora pattern, embroidered oversize college cardigans, bold tracksuits, as well as an array of jackets and skirts coming in

“She’s kind of a nomad…a Polish, bohemian nomad,” designer Gilles Mendel spoke of Talitha Getty, the muse to his latest collection. While the iconic, free-spirit inspired the feel of his pre-fall collection, the color palette was prompted by Mark Rothko’s signature “Multiforms” works. “Coming here, to me, is like coming to the dressing room of the chicest girl in town,” Mendel mused. Inspired by the late Sixties and early Seventies, the collection looked glamorous and modern in Mendel’s DNA: pleated tulle overlay gowns, embroidered skirts and dresses and ruffled blouses.
Mendel enjoyed mixing unusual color combinations, plum with burnt orange, with his luxe and refined silhouettes. His best looks came in burnt velvet — a texture “so rich, that whatever you wear, you feel refined,” Mendel noted, like a vintage rose dress top with Seventies flared trousers or a floor-length gold gown with bishop sleeves. Luxurious, unfinished and reversible furs added to the beautiful and lavish feel of the collection. Overall, the contrast of Rothko’s work against a modern, bohemian spirit suited Mendel.

A sea-life-inspired collection shown via mini runway show at Pier 40, overlooking the Hudson River — the references were impossible to miss in Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim’s pre-fall collection for Oscar de la Renta. Cute illustrated seagulls appeared as a print on a shirtdress and on an intarsia blond mink coat. Fishbone motifs included sequined embroidery on an ivory merino shirt with tied shoulder details over houndstooth tweed trousers, and giant ivory laser-cut leather applique on a black tulle evening dress.
“We designed for a summer delivery,” said Garcia. “When it gets to the stores, it’s going to be what you want to wear to your summer house.”
The lineup was extremely commercial, full of takes on white shirting and blouses, which Garcia noted is a best-selling category. The shirts were worn with things such as a navy and white window pane boucle skirt, a navy dip-dyed plaid pencil skirt, a pair of extralong pinstripe skinny trousers that zipped at the ankle, and a neatly tailored black crepe coat with pearl embroidery at the cuff and matching cropped trousers. The pieces were nice and cleanly cut to be filed under the polished modernist fashion category, but Garcia and Lim still need

What’s next? That’s the question that Jil Sander creative directors Lucie and Luke Meier asked themselves for pre-fall.
In particular, they tried to focus not only on defining the possible future for the brand they joined in April, but also on imagining the imminent future of the world we live in. “We want to be positive,” said Luke Meier.
As a result of this approach, the designers focused on a comfortable, relaxed mood, which translated into “soft, cocooning, cozy and close to the body” silhouettes, as Lucie Meier described the overall shape of the lineup.
A sense of ethereal beauty ran through the collection, which opened with a futuristic-like featherweight, oversized padded coat cinched at the waist with a tone-on-tone corset. The outerwear piece was layered over a soft knitted turtleneck sweater and ribbed knitted joggers, heightening the sense of ease and comfort.
Beautiful shearling coats were worn with bias-cut skirts and wrapped sweaters, while jackets echoed cardigan styles and featured asymmetric closures, creating interesting volumes and drapes.
Jil Sander’s signature rigor informed the range of crispy cotton shirts and tailored suits, which were peppered with quirky touches such as asymmetric pockets and lines.
While centered around classic tones of cream and off-white, blue, gray and

Milton Avery, the Chrysler Building and a spicy autumnal palette were key influences in Zac Posen’s pre-fall collection for Brooks Brothers, but more than anything, the focus was on the brand’s classic career woman, who is very much well-suited. To that end, Posen worked up traditional navy pattern suits with banker blue shirts as well as more fashion red crepe suits. As an office-appropriate alternative, the classic navy pinstripe was reimagined in a soft crepe jacket-dress. On the more casual front, there were shirtdresses, foulard cardigans and blouses, a B-printed jersey wrap dress and a fresh portrait collar shirt in a micro hounds tooth print. Everything was polished and professional for the woman who likes to be well within the corporate dress code.

Derek Lam 10 Crosby’s relatively new design director Shawn Reddy (he’s three seasons in) continued to infuse an earthy simplicity into the collection for pre-fall. In terms of references, he combined Agnes Martin’s artistic spirit, as well as grids, stripes, graphic patterns and neutral colors inspired by her work, with a touch of ikebana floral design. Silhouettes were born from clean, American classics and elevated by interesting details.
“We imagine this girl to be a potter living in Brooklyn,” said Reddy when he got to a spare dark, raw indigo denim jumpsuit with clean hardware buttons up the front and a cutout back. “She’s somewhat creative and has the essence of Agnes Martin today.”
Styling emphasized the artistic attitude. For example, a blue-and-white diagonal striped cotton dress with pleated details on the chest took on an eclectic feeling when worn over a turtleneck. Likewise, layered striped cotton shirts worn over a striped ribbed knit tank dress with asymmetric details. But individual pieces were wearable and unfussy with a lot of versatility. Nowhere was that more evident than an apron dress — a serene slip with an apron panel in the front — that could be worn three ways: loose and undone; tied

Lafayette 148 has long mined inspiration from art. For pre-fall, creative director Emily Smith looked to two of her favorite movements — Vienna Secession and the Bauhaus School — to inform the collection’s balance of graphic prints, linear lines and overall relaxed undertone.
The brand’s approach to design is buy-now-wear-now; for the pre-fall delivery window, essentially the summertime. Lightweight packing essentials that can mix and match and come wrinkle-free came top of mind. Leisurely pajama sets, a flirty red asymmetric dress and those with triangular motifs were some of the most comfy.
A focus on length generated a strong assortment of trenches and duster coats. A khaki version cut in cotton with a bit of linen had a great hand touch, while the red over a monochromatic look had intentionally bunched-up sleeves. The latter was paired over a slightly sheer “piano stripe” top inspired by the work of Josef Hoffmann. Elsewhere, leaf prints referenced the whimsical florals of Secession, appearing most polished on a green garden dress.
Versatility was the biggest appeal. A crisp striped suit could work for a business meeting but was still relaxed; paired with a little cami, it also teased seduction. There were other moments of the soft-and-heavy balance,

Fendi is in the mood for love.
For pre-fall, the Roman fashion house embraced a pop romanticism that translated into a collection combining Fendi’s renowned craftsmanship with a modern, joyful elegance.
The heart was the symbol of the lineup. Mink fur hearts decorated a sumptuous yet ironic hand-cut leather cape which was layered over a dark indigo denim skirt and a T-shirt embellished with an archival logo.
Hearts also appeared as the multicolor intarsia of a boat neck mink fur coat, while they were mixed with graphic flowers in the lace pattern inspired by Western African Dutch Wax prints on a plissé slipdress.
Putting the focus on the shoulders, suits with a slightly Seventies feel featured double-breasted jackets with wide lapels while a checkered cotton dress revealed an eyelet insert, giving the illusion of an off-the-shoulder silhouette with a sweetheart neckline.
Everything in the collection exuded a sense of exclusivity, from the street-luxury fur bombers showing a squared version of the FF logo and the playful mink fur coat featuring intarsia heart-shaped padlocks to the elegant velvet frocks enriched with crystal embroideries and bows.

Boho is over — at least as far as Clare Waight Keller is concerned. As if to banish for good the girly romance of her Chloé tenure, the designer’s pre-fall collection for Givenchy, her second for the brand, mined deeper into the masculine-feminine territory she mapped out in her debut show.
With its mix of oversize outerwear and geek-chic midi dresses, the lineup — shot at a private manor in Kent, England — felt bang in tune with a period of increasingly radicalized gender politics. In fact, shoulders haven’t been this big since the advent of power dressing in the Eighties.
Waight Keller kept the volume current with soft, sculptural constructions like a trenchcoat trimmed with leather and snaps, or chunky monochrome fake fur jackets and coats structured with graphic herringbone motifs. Edgy color clashes telegraphed self-possessed cool.
“It’s in the air politically, and obviously there’s a lot of discussion around that, but I do think even as a house, we represent a very confident and a very daring kind of woman,” Waight Keller told WWD.
She traced her use of bold shades like red, amber, electric blue and black to founder Hubert de Givenchy. “I love the idea of those strange brights. They’re sort

The effortless attitude of New York’s women and their eclectic look served as inspiration for the Missoni pre-fall collection.
Marking a move from its signature patterns, including the zig-zag, the brand embraced a new attitude and explored different solutions to refresh its image.
The result was definitely appealing. The Missoni graphic logo pop up on several pieces, infused with a cool street mood. For example, it appeared as a contrasting intarsia on the back of a covetable shearling bomber, while it served as starting point to create a geometric pattern embossed on tight leather pants. The logo also gave a playful twist to knitwear, including comfortable joggers matched with a luxurious shearling and mink fur striped jacket.
Mannish influences, especially evident in the range of oversized coats and impeccable suits, were juxtaposed to a free-spirited folk feel. This resonated in the range of patchwork silk dresses showing a combination of different floral patterns and enriched by a cascade of printed fringes, as well as in the crochet maxi cardigans and outerwear styles exuding artisanal craftsmanship.
Despite the array of vibes and references, the lineup seemed coherent and marked an interesting step for the evolution of the fashion house, which is gearing up to celebrate

Alice Temperley referenced a myriad of influences — such as 20th-century female explorers, nature, archeology and Peter Beard’s travel journals — for pre-fall. The Temperley woman was a dynamic, wandering traveler who was on a journey and spent her days exploring.
Temperley juxtaposed feminine aspects of the range with more masculine shapes, which added a cool edge to her relaxed and contemporary lineup of daywear, tailoring and eveningwear.
She incorporated cotton drill men’swear tailoring, oversized silhouettes and cinched-in waists against soft chiffon fabrics and florals. There was a jumpsuit that featured a bold graphic embroidery influenced by Tibetan Tiger rugs. A tailored khaki suit was belted at the waist. The jacket, which came a bit oversized, was paired with wide-leg cropped trousers.
For eveningwear, she concentrated on spines and nature as embellishments. She employed sequins and mirrored Perspex, which were hand-cut. She looked at the spines of leaves, animal prints and fossils and devised geometric patterns, which were hand-sewn as accents on floor-sweeping gowns and jumpsuits.
The designer worked in a palette filled with camel, green, khaki, dark olive, pecan, saffron, savannah, scarlet, turmeric and vermilion.

Tomas Maier is a designer with practicality in the forefront of his mind. What do his customers desire when pre-fall actually hits stores? From Maier’s observation that “the customer does not buy much ahead of time anymore,” he created two separate drops for pre-fall 2018.
The first, which will hit stores mid-May/June included summer hits. There was fun swimwear, cotton beach-appropriate gingham, airy cotton pleated dresses and lightweight outerwear, such as a nylon Windbreaker that could be worn in the reverse lamé side for a hint of glam. His strongest assortment from drop one resulted in two lightweight denim dresses with industrial pull belts and straps.
Maier proclaimed his second drop to be “a bit more of a boarding school girl…good girl versus bad girl.” There were great fall textures throughout. A check kilt with the same industrial pull belts and chunky sweaters for the “good girl” while “bad girl” included chic denim set of high-waisted pant and tailored jacket cow-printed mohair collar as well as a mesh skirt. Maier’s outerwear proved strong as well and rounded out final drop of a collection that was sensibly planned around Maier’s customers timely desires.

“A gothic, romantic fairy-tale,” Stuart Vevers said during the walk-through of his women’s and men’s pre-fall collections for Coach. He aimed to design what he referred to as a “specific moment” — a stand-alone capsule for the season rather than a transitional fashion message. References included American rock ‘n’ roll royalty, a blend of Stevie Nicks’ romantic spirit and Axl Rose’s swagger, plus the darker side of Disney’s “Snow White.”
The juxtaposition of cartoon references, like the seven dwarves or poison apple, with Americana accents — whipstitching, floral embroideries and eyelets — made for an exciting assortment. Literal interpretations took many forms, like a knitted sweater with a spooky “house in the woods” motif, or “Sleepy” and “Bashful” embroidered leather bags. Standouts included a delicate yet edgy black lace and floral printed handkerchief dress as well as a sleek, tailored black band jacket.
The sensibility was the same for men’s wear, which had a distinct streetwear edge. Hoodies, short-sleeve sweatshirts, backpacks and skateboards came embellished with ghost eyes and the occasional evil squirrel graphic, reflecting the designer’s sense of fun and cool.
These items mingled with Vevers’ trademark classics with a twist such as polos with a dinosaur crest, varsity jackets with Western

“Every collection is a springboard for the next,” stated Maggie “Marilyn” Hewitt during a morning walk-through of her pre-fall 2018 and fall 2018 collections. Upon walking into the room, this feeling is apparent in Hewitt’s pre-fall assortment through identifiable brand colors: lively reds, pinks and greens that transition to subdued and neutralized hues for fall. The feeling floats throughout both collections à la athletic details, flowy silk dresses and tailored separates with feminine twists.
For both collections, Hewitt played with textures. There was a great gingham trenchcoat with “grandpa plaid” panels as well as a smocked long-sleeve button-down for pre-fall, while fall’s standout included a playful tartan tennis-skirt-trouser-hybrid pant paired with a one-shouldered crisp white top. There was plenty of updated Maggie Marilyn staples: athletic hoodies and bombers with organza ruffles, modern blazers with sleeves that could be worn down or cinched up, flowy silk tops and striped day dresses. The overall theme of the collections could be summed into Hewitt’s catchword of the season: easy. In her case, this meant creating superchic yet relaxed throw-on wear, whenever or wherever clothes that walk the line between masculine and feminine. “I think that’s the always the thing for me, the fine

Whether she is a fly girl from the Bronx, N.Y., or a disco queen from Manhattan, the Dsquared2 woman of the season is utterly cool.
For pre-fall, Dean and Dan Caten managed to deliver what they do best — charming clothes infused with luxury, polished glamour and a high dose of fun.
The precise and sharp silhouettes defining Dsquared2’s signature tailoring-oriented aesthetic was perfectly balanced by the introduction of metallic fabrics, striped and camouflage patterns, as well as pops of vibrant colors.
The collection was built as the rich wardrobe of a trendy urban girl. She hits the city’s streets with light wool track pants embellished with a logo band and matched with a coordinated bomber. She picks up the kids at school in a pair of distressed jeans, paired with a striped sweater and a covetable classic shearling coat. But when the sun goes down, she pours into a dramatic black gown with a sexy plunging V-neck or pairs a tuxedolike skirt suit with an open back wrap top and over-the-knee heeled boots.
She can be a playful tomboy, a chic uptown girl and a party girl — in any case, someone you’ll surely want to call your friend.

PARIS – After Paris and Tokyo, Christelle Kocher is ready to bring her rule-breaking approach to catwalk shows to New York.
The French designer will hit the Big Apple on Dec. 12 to showcase her pre-fall collection for her ready-to-wear brand Koché, alongside a capsule men’s wear collection marking the start of a new two-season partnership with The Woolmark Co.
The display, to be held at the Strand Bookstore on Broadway, will also feature the next chapter in her ongoing collaboration with Paris soccer club Paris Saint-Germain — with perhaps a celebrity footballer or two in attendance, league schedules permitting.
Known for blending streetwear influences with the kind of upscale techniques usually reserved for couture, Kocher has staged guerrilla-style shows in locations including a crowded underground station and a historic covered shopping arcade in Paris, as part of her ethos of sharing fashion with the masses.
With its slogan “18 Miles Of Books,” the Strand is one of New York’s oldest and largest independent bookstores, featured in movies including “Six Degrees of Separation,” “Julie & Julia” and “Remember Me.”
“This is the first time we are doing a show for a pre-collection,” said Kocher, adding that she has a “special relationship” with New York, where

Urban safari was the mood at Just Cavalli. The brand’s glamorous attitude was tempered by both metropolitan and tribal accents, which gave a fresh appeal to the lineup. A variety of wild animal patterns was combined on a breezy silk tunic matched with flared pants, while African motifs peppered the jacquard knits, including a V-neck Lurex sweater paired with a silk blouse and pleated culottes. A range of Eighties disco-inspired pieces, such as cargo pants and a draped, asymmetric minidress worn under an embroidered utility parka, were more flamboyant and eye-catching. Leather jackets treated with artisanal techniques to obtain textures inspired by scarification as well as embroidered jumpsuits and maxidresses enriched with studs and beads completed the collection with a touch of luxurious opulence.

Etro re-created an Eastern wonderland for pre-fall. The brand’s signature luxury nomadic spirit was given added charm via Far East iconography, echoed in the collection’s mix of graphics and patterns.
Tapestries, chinosoiries, textiles and wallpapers from the Eastern world at large inspired both the floral and graphic prints and the jacquard motifs. Kimono-like robe coats came in opulent brocades trimmed with mink fur, while asymmetric draped dresses were realized in lightweight textured silk.
The decorative attitude of the lineup, enhanced by the rich color palette, was balanced by sophisticated city staples injected with a subtle Seventies vibe. These included an orange peacoat worn with denim pants featuring a beaded side decor, as well as a pajama set in a joyful and colorful floral print matched with a printed sports bra, which introduced a touch of contemporary athleticism.

Newly appointed global design director Niall Sloan started in August, though his first imprint on the label won’t be until the fall 2018 collection. In the interim, a design team worked on both mainline and Sport with the goal of taking classic Escada prints and reinterpreting them in new silhouettes. The effect was a less structured, more lightweight offering for the boardroom to dinner. Florals atop florals were an easy path to more youthful dressing, and could pack easily into itself, like a wrinkle-free coatdress that folded into an envelope pouch.
The inspiration was twofold — Peter Lindbergh’s recent photo exhibition in Germany and iznik pottery from Turkey — resulting in a mix of classic men’s wear-inspired suiting with bold prints in red, blue and turquoise. The items that toed the balance best were subtle, as in cardigans and sweatshirts with hand-beaded petals that never felt overdone. There were in fact quite a few embellished looks, from a flirty blue dress that would suit any young starlet to an evening gown that took over 300 hours to hand-bead; though a great deal of work was applied to these, they maintained an unstructured ease. Perhaps that’s the reason customers keep coming back

They say timing is everything and one is inclined to guess that Tomas Maier would agree. He operates on a schedule — the calendar is often the first thing he references during previews of his collections, whether for Bottega Veneta or his own line. At a walk-through of the former’s pre-fall lineup, Maier divvied the clothes up into three deliveries — May, June and July — almost designing three micro-themes within one collection, each based on what he thinks women would want at that exact time of year.
The first part was the next step from his spring collection — light, soft, unadorned derivations of some of the silhouettes shown on the runway. Light pink dresses in airy, washed silk were suited to summer’s early days. Then, for June, “What do I need?” asked Maier. “It’s probably a wedding, a christening. Events come up.” Special occasions warranted special details, such as an easy, robe-like printed cotton coat over a multicolored bronze, blue and white paillette dress in a simple, sporty silhouette. When it finally gets closer to real fall, Maier wanted to tease the season with sophisticated back-to-school/back-to-work shapes, such as graphic plaid skirts, leather jackets and ultralight knit polos with

Tony Melillo referred to his latest pre-fall collection as “grunge-luxe.” His lineup of languid sweaters, wide-leg trousers and graphic, Modish minidresses oozed an understated, wearable ease; one that was undone but never messy. Silk blouses, tailored jackets and jumpsuits in sandy neutral tones were finished with oversize breast pockets, riffing on subtle utilitarian themes. Relaxed silhouettes came updated in textural fabrics — such as a large cardigan in a gauzy tape yarn and a few camisoles and skirts in crushed velvet — and were toughened up when paired with leather miniskirts and jackets.

DUBAI — Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne of Public School took their pre-fall show to Dubai, showing Monday night in a specially constructed space at the Dubai Design District with a view of the world’s tallest building.
The designers described the collection as a contrast between technology and nature. “It’s about where they meet and the idea of permanence in nature giving way to this fleeting platform of new ideas and the constant demand for newness,” said Chow. “It’s an interesting contrast that we played with, especially to do this here in Dubai which is essentially a new city just plopped here in the middle of the desert.”
The natural elements in the collection included Japanese Shibori print jackets with ethnic-inspired necklines. “We used the idea of traditional indigo dyeing, but playing with it in our way, mixing with sports tailoring. The jackets were contrasted with sports stripes hanging from the arm,” said Osborne.
The collection also brought mesh to the top layer of pieces, using a two-tone mesh fabric of navy and white, creating a 3D effect when layered over the Shibori print. “We’ve always had it as an underpinning of mesh in our collections, but using it this way was a

DUBAI — Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne of Public School took their pre-fall show to Dubai, showing Monday night in a specially constructed space at the Dubai Design District with a view of the world’s tallest building.
The designers described the collection as a contrast between technology and nature. “It’s about where they meet and the idea of permanence in nature giving way to this fleeting platform of new ideas and the constant demand for newness,” said Chow. “It’s an interesting contrast that we played with, especially to do this here in Dubai which is essentially a new city just plopped here in the middle of the desert.”
The natural elements in the collection included Japanese Shibori print jackets with ethnic-inspired necklines. “We used the idea of traditional indigo dyeing, but playing with it in our way, mixing with sports tailoring. The jackets were contrasted with sports stripes hanging from the arm,” said Osborne.
The collection also brought mesh to the top layer of pieces, using a two-tone mesh fabric of navy and white, creating a 3D effect when layered over the Shibori print. “We’ve always had it as an underpinning of mesh in our collections, but using it this way was a

DUBAI — Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne of Public School took their pre-fall show to Dubai, showing Monday night in a specially constructed space at the Dubai Design District with a view of the world’s tallest building.
The designers described the collection as a contrast between technology and nature. “It’s about where they meet and the idea of permanence in nature giving way to this fleeting platform of new ideas and the constant demand for newness,” said Chow. “It’s an interesting contrast that we played with, especially to do this here in Dubai which is essentially a new city just plopped here in the middle of the desert.”
The natural elements in the collection included Japanese Shibori print jackets with ethnic-inspired necklines. “We used the idea of traditional indigo dyeing, but playing with it in our way, mixing with sports tailoring. The jackets were contrasted with sports stripes hanging from the arm,” said Osborne.
The collection also brought mesh to the top layer of pieces, using a two-tone mesh fabric of navy and white, creating a 3D effect when layered over the Shibori print. “We’ve always had it as an underpinning of mesh in our collections, but using it this way was a